Latching mechanism for ladle cars



May 26, 1959 Filed Oct. 15. 1954 S. G. EDELMANN LATCHING MECHANISM FOR LADLE CARS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. .SYLVESTER 6. EDELMANN,

his A/forney.

May 26, 1959 s. G. EDELMANN LATCHING MECHANISM FOR LADLEI CARS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 13 1954 INVENTOR. sYL VESTER a. EDEL MAN/V, 5

his Attorney.

United States atent LATCHING MECHANISM FOR LADLE CARS Sylvester G. Edelmann, Johnstown, Pa., assignor to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Application October 13, 1954, Serial No. 461,991

Claims. (Cl. 105-264) The present invention relates generally to railway ladle cars and more particularly to an improved latching mechanism for locking the ladle of a ladle car in upright non-tiltable position.

Conventional ladle cars in current use consist essentially of two four-wheeled trucks held in spaced relation by means of a curved plate attached to one of the trucks at each end, an upright frame member extending transversely across each end of the car supported on the trucks, a ladle supporting trunnion ring supported by and extend ing between the two frame members, and a ladle cradled by the trunnion ring. A pneumatically powered linkage system, ordinarily including a pressure cylinder, crosshead, crank and connecting pin, is provided for tilting the trunnion ring to empty the contents of the ladle. This linkage, especially the crank pins, are susceptible of failure during transit and prior, to my invention, such failure created hazardous conditions since each time a failure occurred, the trunnion ring became free of restraint by the linkage mechanism and tilted the ladle to dumping position. This caused the molten metal or slag being carried in the ladle to be strewn along the track which created dangerous conditions for trainmen and other workers in the vicinity and also caused damage to the trackway. Further, clue to their shape, ladles that were thus dumped during transit along parallel trackways would overhang the adjacent trackway and constitute a hazard of wreckage with railway stock on the adjacent track.

It is, accordingly, an object of my invention to provide a mechanism for positively locking the ladle of a ladle car in upright non-tiltable position to eliminate the possibility of the ladle tilting or tipping while in transit.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a positive latching mechanism for the ladle of a ladle car which may be connected with the tilting mechanism of the car so as to be eifective while the tilting mechanism is not operating and the car is in transit.

It is another object of my invention to provide a positive latching mechanism for the ladle of a ladle car which is so connected with the tilting mechanism that the ladle cannot be tilted by the tilting mechanism while the latching mechanism is in latching position.

' It is another object of my invention to provide a positive latching mechanism for the ladle of a ladle car which is of rugged and inexpensive construction and which may be easily incorporated in the structure of existing ladle cars and which includes a latch bar capable of outward and upward movement in relation to the base frame and splash shields of the car.

These and other objects will become more apparent after referring to the following specification and attached drawings, in which:

Figure l is a top plan view of a ladle car equipped i with the latching mechanism of the invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of Figure 1; Figure 3 is an enlarged detail front elevational view of the mechanism of the invention;

the line lV-IV of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a top plan view taken on the line VV of Figure 4; and

Figure 6 is a side elevational view taken on the line VI--VI of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line VII-VII of Figure 3.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, reference numeral 2 designates a railway ladle car provided with the latching apparatus of my invention. The ladle car 2 includes a pair of four-wheel trucks 4 connected in spaced relation by a curved girder plate 6. Upstanding frame members 8 and 10 are mounted on the trucks transversely of the car for supporting a trunnion ring 12 cradling a ladle 14 therebetween. The trunnion ring is tiltably supported by means of a rack 16 and pinion 18 on each of the frame members. A splash shield or cover 19 may be provided under each end of the trunnion ring 12 extending angularly from a point intermediate the height of the frame member at each end to the girder plate 6. The purpose of the splash shields is to prevent damage by the spillage of hot materials from the ladle on to the understructure of the car or the road bed of the trackway. Frame member 10 carries a pneumatic linkage system 20 connected with one of the pinions 18 for tilting the trunnion ring. A handle 22 projects outwardly of one side of the frame member 10 for manipulating a lever 23 of the linkage system 20 which actuates the tilting mechanism. The mounting of the handle 22 is so arranged that when the handle is moved to position A, as best shown in Figure 4, it functions to lock the tilting mechanism in non-operative condition and when it is moved to position B, it releases the mechanism and actuates it to effect tilting of the trunnion ring 12.

The construction thus far described is conventional and is not claimed as my invention, the details of which will now be described in detail.

Reference numeral 24 indicates a bar, having laterally extending reinforcement web plates 26 integral therewith, welded or otherwise rigidly attached to the underside of the trunnion ring 12 in a vertical plane immediately adjacent the inner face 28 of the frame member 10. The web plates 26 are provided on the bar 24 for rigidity and terminate short of the bottom of the bar for a reason which will become more apparent as this description proceeds.

An opening 30 is provided in the inner face of the frame member 10 at apoint intersected by the vertical plane of the bar 24 when the trunnion ring 12 is in nontilted position A latch 32 having a recess 34 in the outer face thereof is slidably supported in the frame member 10 for horizontal movement into and out of the opening 30 axially of the car. The latch 32 is shaped and dimensioned so as to be adapted to engage the bar 24 in the recess 34 when it is moved out of the opening 30 to thereby lock the trunnion ring 12 in non-tilting position.

Manual or power actuated means may be provided for moving the latch 32 into and out of the opening 30, and I have shown and will describe one form of a manually operated linkage system which may be utilized for this purpose. This system includes a clevis 36 rigidly attached, by welding or otherwise, and depending from the underside of the latch 32 within the frame member 10. A pivot link 38 is pivotally attached byone end to the clevis 36 by means of a pivot pin 40. The opposite end of the link 38 is rigidly attached to a rotatable shaft 42 which extends transversely of the car and projects outwardly from the side of the frame member 10 at a point adjacent to the manipulating handle 22. A pivot link 44 is rigidly attached by one end to the projecting end of the shaft 42 and at its other end is pivotally attached '2 a) to a connecting rod 46 which extends from the link 44 to a pivotal connection with a straddle link 48 which is rigidly attached to the handle 22.

In operation, the-bar 24 is Vertically aligned with the opening 30 and the latch 32 is moved out of the opening toward the bar. The movement of latch 32 is brought about by moving handle 22 to position A. The pivoting of handle 22, through connecting rod 46 and link 44, rotates shaft 42 and causes the latch 32 to move horizontally out of the opening 30 and engage the bar 24 in the recess 34. Thus, the trunnion ring 12 is locked against any possible rotation simultaneously with locking of the tilting mechanism. This provides positive locking of the trunnion ring 12 even in the event the tilting mechanism connected with the trunnion ring pinion 18 should .fail.

When the trunnion 12 is rotated to tilt the ladle and dump its contents, it will be noted that the bar 24 moves outwardly and upwardly relative to the understructure of the ladle car. This is an important feature of my invention since such outward and upward movement prevents the latching mechanism from interfering with normal operation of the car even when splash shields are included in the car structure.

Although I have shown the locking mechanism of my invention connected with the handle of the tilting mechanism and operable thereby simultaneously with the operation of the locking means for the tilting mechanism, it will be understood that the locking mechanism of the invention may be arranged independently of the tilting mechanism and operated separately.

While one embodiment of my invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a ladle car including an upstanding frame member extending transversely across each end of said car, a tiltable ladle-supporting trunnion ring supported by and extending between said frame members, power means for tilting said trunnion ring disposed on one of said frame members in operative association with said trunnion ring, an operating lever for actuating said tilting power means, one end of said lever projecting outwardly of one side of said last mentioned frame in the shape of a handle for manipulating the same, the combination therewith of apparatus for locking said trunnion ring in nontilted position, said apparatus comprising a rigid bar depending from said trunnion ring immediately adjacent said last mentioned frame member, said last-mentioned frame member having an opening in the face thereof adjacent said bar, said bar being disposed so as to lie in a vertical plane intersecting said opening when said trunnion ring is in non-tilted position, a latch having a recess in the outer face thereof slidably disposed for horizontal movement into and out of said opening toward and away from said vertical plane, said latch being adapted to engage said bar in said recess when said latch is moved out of said opening and said trunnion ring is in non-tilted position to thereby lock said trunnion ring in non-tilted position, and means for moving said latch into and out of said opening said last mentioned. means being connected with said tilting power means actuating lever whereby said latch is simultaneously moved to bar engaging position by movement of said actuating lever to non-actuating position 2. In a ladle car the combination therewith as defined by claim 1 characterized by said latch moving means including a clevis depending from said latch, a link pivotally attached at one end to said clevis and depending therefrom, a rotatable shaft rigidly attached at one end to the free end of said link and extending therefrom to a point adjacent the projecting end of said tilting power means actuating lever, a pivot link rigidly attached by one end to the free end of said rotatable shaft, a connecting rod pivotally connected at its ends to said pivot link and the handle portion of said actuating lever whereby movement of said handle to non-actuating position rotates said shaft through said connecting rod and pivot link to move said latch into bar engaging position.

3. In a ladle car the combination therewith as defined by claim 1 characterized by said bar having laterally extending reinforcing web plates integral therewith along a substantial portion of its length, said web plates terminating short of the end of said bar remote from said trunnion ring.

4. In a ladle car including an upstanding frame member extending transversely across each end of the car, a tiltable ladle-supporting trunnion ring supported by and extending between said frame members, a splash shield spaced under each supported end of said trunnion and extending angularly and downwardly from a point intermediate the height of each frame member, power means for tilting said trunnion ring disposed on one of said frame members in operative association with said trunnion ring, an operating lever for actuating said tilting power means, one end of said lever projecting outwardly of one side of said last mentioned frame in the shape of a handle for manipulating-the same, the combination therewith of apparatus for locking said trunnion ring in non-tilted position, said apparatus comprising a rigid bar depending rom said trunnion ring immediately adjacent said last mentioned frame member, said last mentioned rame member having an opening in the face thereof adjacent said bar, said bar being disposed so as to lie in a vertical plane intersecting said opening when said trunnion ring is in non-tilted position, said bar terminating short of the plane in which said splash shields are disposed and being adapted to move outwardly and upward ly of the plane in which said splash shields are disposed when said trunnion is tilted, a latch having a recess in the outer face thereof slidably disposed for horizontal movement into and out of said opening toward and away from said vertical plane, said latch being adapted to engage said bar in said recess when said latch is moved out of said opening and said trunnion ring is in non-tilted position to thereby lock said trunnion ring in non-tilted position, and means for moving said latch into and out of said opening said last mentioned means being connected with said tilting power means actuating lever whereby said latch is simultaneously moved to bar engaging position by movement of said actuating lever to non-actuating position.

5. In a ladle car the combination therewith as defined by claim 4 characterized by said latch moving means ineluding a clevis depending from said latch, a link pivotally attached at one end to said clevis and depending therefrom, a rotatable shaft rigidly attached at one end to the free end of said link and extending therefrom to a point adjacent the projecting end of said tilting power means actuating lever, a pivot link rigidly attached by one end to the free end of said rotatable shaft, a connecting rod pivotally connected at its ends to said pivot link and the handle portion of said actuating lever whereby movement of said handle to non-actuating position rotates said shaft through said connecting rod and pivot link to move said latch into bar engaging position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 947,197 Furst Jan. 18, 1910 1,151,312 Weiner Aug. 24, 1914 1,442,151 Howard Jan. 16, 1923 1,778,619 Allen Oct. 14, 1930 2,454,055 Gilchrist Nov. 16, 1948 

